 icetimesbanner_Barrett.jpg "Chris Barrett, Icetimes, 1998")
- 1. Art Materials
- 2. Professions
- Ceramics [17]
- Drawing [4]
- Glasswork [8]
- Metalworking/ Sculpture/ Jewelery [15]
- Museum Work [9]
- Music [20]
- Chin Rests and Violin Players
- Ergonomic Musical Instruments
- Fog and Smoke
- Guitar Strings Cause Dermatitis
- Hand and Upper Limb Problems in Children
- Medical Problems of Musicians
- Musicians Can Be Victims of Peculiar Skin Problems
- Return to Play After Injury
- Rosin Hazards
- Secondary School Musicians Hazards
- Shared Musical Instruments
- Singing and Dancing with Pain
- Hearing and Noise
- Painting [4]
- Papermaking [1]
- Performing Artists [8]
- Photography [5]
- Printmaking [9]
- Theatre, TV, Film [27]
- Woodworking [7]
- 3. General Safety and Health
- 4. Health Effects/Disorders
- 5. Special Subjects
- 6. Local Health and Safety Resources
- Glossary of Terms
Return to Play After Injury
The treatment of musicians' injuries has two distinct, overlapping, phases. Reducing pain or symptoms represents only the first stage. Too often, this is the end of the medical care. If the player has had to stop playing or significantly reduce playing time during the healing phase, a graduated, methodical plan for returning to full musical activity is essential to avoid emotionally and physically distressing relapses. In the field of occupational medicine this concept is called 'work hardening'. The worker performs his or her specific tasks, but starts out at a greatly reduced level in terms of time and intensity. A graduated program for return to play is discussed in terms of duration, tempo and technical difficulty with specific recommendations for various instruments. Minor set backs are to be expected and the patient should be advised from the start that this is a normal part of the process so as to avoid discouragement. Following the principles set forth in this article will optimize the musicians' chances for smooth, successful return to normal musical activity.
(Dr. Norris's book The Musician's Survival Manual: A Guide to Preventing and Treating Injuries in Instrumentalists can be ordered from MMB Music, Contemporary Arts Building, 3526 Washington Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63103.-Ed).
The preceding abstract was reprinted with permission from Section 35 (Occupational Health and Industrial Medicine) of Excerpta Medica.
Return to Play After Injury: Strategies to Support a Musician's Recovery Norris R.N. - National Arts Medicine Center, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Center, 3 Bethesda Metro Center 950, Bethesda, MD Work 1996 7/2 (89-93).
Art Hazard News, Volume 20, No. 2, 1997
This article was originally printed for Art Hazard News, © copyright Center for Safety in the Arts 1997. It appears on CAR courtesy of the Health in the Arts Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, who have curated a collection of these articles from their archive which are still relevant to artists today.